Quick answer: The drives worth building a trip around: Iceland’s Ring Road, the Pacific Coast Highway, Scotland’s North Coast 500, Norway’s Atlantic Road and New Zealand’s southern loops: each one a destination disguised as a route.
1. The Ring Road, Iceland
1,332km around fire and ice: waterfalls (Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss), the glacier lagoon at Jokulsarlon, black-sand Vik and steaming valleys. Seven days minimum; summer for access, September for auroras with open roads.
2. Pacific Coast Highway, USA
Big Sur’s cliff-hung curves between San Francisco and LA: Bixby Bridge, McWay Falls, elephant seals and otters at every pull-off. Drive south-to-north for ocean-side overlooks, and check closures (the road moves).
3. North Coast 500, Scotland
A Highlands loop of single-track roads, sea lochs, whisky distilleries and beaches (Achmelvich!) that look stolen from the Caribbean until you touch the water. Book rooms ahead: the secret is out.
4. The Atlantic Road & fjord Norway
Eight bridges leaping between islets, then inland to Trollstigen’s hairpins and the Geiranger fjord. Compact, jaw-dropping and best June to September.
5. New Zealand’s South Island loops
Queenstown to Milford Sound (rainforest, mirror lakes, kea parrots) and the West Coast’s glacier highway: every hour delivers a new biome. Campervans turn it into the world’s easiest expedition.
6. The Garden Route, South Africa
Cape Town to Port Elizabeth via winelands, whale-watching Hermanus, Knysna’s lagoon and safari add-ons: a greatest-hits reel in 800km.
7. The Amalfi Coast, Italy
White-knuckle, horn-soundtracked and utterly worth it: Positano to Ravello’s gardens. Drive it early morning or out of season: or be driven, and just watch.
Road-trip rules
Plan fewer kilometres than the map suggests (the stops are the point), book the first and last nights only, fuel up at half-tank in remote country and download offline maps. The best photo of any trip is usually an unplanned lay-by.
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John Morrison is the founder and lead travel writer at Packzup. Over the past decade he has explored destinations across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania — always self-funded, never on a press trip.